by Olivia Miles
Except a husband who loved her.
She forced her attention to the road, trying not to think about other matters right now. It would only bring her down, and she didn’t want to feel down anymore. Bridget lived in an apartment near the center of town, and walking distance from Oyster Bay’s shops and restaurants that lined Main Street, including the gastro pub owned and operated by Ryan Dunley, Bridget’s ex and Emma’s father. Margo had only been there once, when she and Ash had visited for Mom and Dad’s funeral. The food had been delicious, but then, after a week of mourning and barely stopping for food, anything would have probably tasted good. Ryan had refilled their bowls with warm chowder, until they couldn’t take anymore, and spicy cornbread that topped anything she’d been served down south. But that was the beginning of the end for Ryan and Bridget—the tension between them was tangible, the bickering intense, the difficult circumstances only adding to deep-rooted problems that never did get solved.
Six months later, Bridget left him. And now, out of loyalty, Margo could never go back to Dunley’s for more of that cornbread. She wished she’d thought to ask for the recipe when she had the chance. She could just imagine how that would have gone over with Nadine Reynolds last Thanksgiving, when, by some twisted misunderstanding, they’d both brought cornbread to Grandmother Reynolds’s house and Nadine had decided to go around the table and ask each guest whose dish they preferred.
Out of loyalty, perhaps, Ash had voted for his mother.
Loyalty. Is that what had kept her sisters from mentioning that Eddie was back in town? Or was it loyalty to Ash? Probably not. Sure, her sisters hadn’t disliked Ash, not openly at least, but they’d never really warmed to him either. And it had been clear by their own romantic choices that he was far from the type they would choose.
No, Ash, being preppy and clean cut and a bit type A, was hardly their style. But then, she hadn’t been his in the end, had she?
She parked the car in front of the apartment complex and walked into the courtyard clutching a bottle of wine by the neck and scolding herself to get it together before she knocked on the door. Tonight wasn’t the time to burden her sisters with her marital issues, especially with Emma around. Tonight was about reconnecting and having fun, and God knew she deserved a bit of that.
She walked along the path, scanning the numbers on the doors, feeling like a bit of a heel that she didn’t remember exactly where her sister’s unit was, and that she had only been here a handful of times at best. She craned her neck, trying to remember if it was unit 1D or 1F, and feeling too ashamed to text and ask, when a door behind her slammed.
She turned, hoping to ask a neighbor to point her in the right direction, but the words stopped on her tongue when she saw Eddie standing in front of her.
“We meet again.” His mouth curved into a smile.
Margo decided not to mention Serenity Hills, or the way she’d run off on him—something she’d love nothing more than to do again, right now. “I’m visiting my sister,” she said lamely.
She stared at him, properly this time, because there was no avoiding it. The courtyard was empty and they were standing eye to eye, face to face, and God, it was nearly killing her. He’d aged since the last time she’d seen him, his features hardening, laugh lines creasing the corner of his eyes, and damn it if he wasn’t more handsome than he’d been all those years ago, when he was just a boy really. She looked at his mouth, finding it nearly impossible to think she’d once kissed it, and up into his eyes, deep set and dark and just a little haunted, not much different than he’d looked that last time she’d seen him, when he kissed her forehead and whispered into her ear and lingered on her for so long she thought he might just change his mind and stay. But he couldn’t stay. That part wasn’t up to him. But choosing not to return was—and that was something she’d had to learn to accept.
“She’s two doors down and one across. One G.”
Ah, 1G. So she was way off. “I knew that.”
He didn’t look convinced, but said nothing to the contrary.
“So you live here.” Alone? She waited to see if he volunteered any information, but he just shrugged.
“It suits me, and I didn’t want to impose on my aunt or uncle.”
She nodded, still trying to understand what he was doing here at all. “What brought you back to town?”
His jaw seemed to tense at this. “Extenuating circumstances.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? He had a job, an apartment; his life, by all appearances, seemed settled. She’d just seen Lori, who had given no hint at trouble with the family.
She thought of Eddie’s visit at Serenity Hills, and quickly dismissed it. He was probably following up some police business, not that she could see how anyone in that facility could cause much trouble…Well, other than Pudgie.
She opened her mouth to speak, not sure what there was to even say, even though there were so many burning questions. But Eddie jutted his chin to the street. “I should go,” he said abruptly, stepping back. He gestured to the wine in her hands. “Have a nice dinner.”
That was all he had to say to her? After all this time, this was it? He wanted to pretend like nothing had happened? That he had just decided to come back to town, now, not then, because of extenuating circumstances?
He wasn’t her friend anymore, she realized with a pang. Once they had told each other everything, and now he was being decidedly vague.
Margo stood there, watching him walk to his car, the ache in her chest returning as she tried to wrap her head around what had just happened, and then, before she could bother to read any more into it, she turned and went off in search of Bridget’s apartment.
Eddie was trouble. He was then. He was now.
Really, she had enough trouble of her own these days. The last thing she needed was to add Eddie to the mix.
***
Emma greeted her at the door, wearing a purple iridescent princess dress, a pink plastic tiara, and a smile that boasted two missing teeth. At first glance, Margo could see that she was taller and thinner than the last time she’d visited, and the realization filled her with shame. “Auntie Margo! Look at my Halloween costume! Do you like it?” She gave a dramatic twirl, and all at once, Margo felt better.
“A fairy princess?” she guessed.
Emma stared at her. “Just a princess, silly. See? No wings?”
Ah. Of course. “Well, come here and give me a hug, princess.” She swooped into give her only niece a squeeze and then reached into her handbag to pull out the bag of chocolates she’d bought for her at the store. “You have to ask your mother first,” she said, knowing how Bridget could be about things like sugar and teeth and other rules like bedtime and schedules.
“Have to ask me what?” Bridget asked, coming into the hall with Abby bouncing at her heels.
At the sight of her younger sister, Margo felt her spirit lift. “Abby!” She laughed as Abby bounded into her arms. Even at the age of twenty-eight, she was still a child at heart, and Margo half envied her for it.
Bridget surveyed them both with narrowed eyes. She didn’t have the same patience when it came to Abby. “Come into the kitchen. I have wine and snacks while the lasagna’s cooking. And Emma, no chocolate until dessert, please.”
Emma gave a groan and Margo gave her a wink. “Hold my hand and lead the way,” she said, even though the apartment was small, and the kitchen was nearly within arm’s reach.
Emma deposited her bag of candy on the counter and immediately became engrossed in a coloring book at the round pedestal table that was set for four. Margo handed over the bottle of wine she’d brought with her and said, “You failed to mention that Eddie was your neighbor.”
Bridget’s face flushed with guilt. “I thought of saying something, but then I wasn’t sure you’d still care.”
Abby’s green eyes were wide when Margo turned to her, brow arched. “Honestly, I didn’t think you still cared about Eddie. You’ve been married for li
ke…forever.”
Forever. It was true. Twelve years in total had been spent with Ash, while only three short years were spent with Eddie. So why did it feel like the only person she’d ever truly been herself with was the one who knew her the shortest?
“I don’t still care about Eddie,” Margo said with more insistence than she felt. “But a head’s up might have been nice. I just bumped into him, with no preparation.” Now, that part wasn’t entirely true. She did know he was in town. But that knowledge was supposed to help her avoid him, not find him.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t forefront in my mind.” Bridget uncorked the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. “Besides, I barely see him around. Our schedules don’t match up.”
“When did he move back?” Margo asked, hoping her tone passed for casual. She leaned against the counter and inspected a nail, but she was holding her breath, eager for information.
“It was the spring, I think.” Bridget shrugged.
Margo nodded. She was burning to know more. Was he married? Kids? But what did it matter? The mystery of Eddie Boyd was solved. Closure was mostly had. She knew now how he’d turned out. Where he’d ended up. Right back in Oyster Bay.
“He’s a police officer, you know,” Abby offered, seemingly pleased by this fact.
“Yes, I’m aware,” Margo said. “Rather ironic, isn’t it?”
“Oh, are any of us really the same people we were at eighteen?” Bridget said.
“You aren’t,” Abby said, taking a sip of wine. “When you were eighteen you were still fun.”
Margo laughed, but Bridget seemed far from amused. “Well, one of us has to be responsible around here. Between a kid, Mimi, and a job, I don’t have the luxury of being fun.”
“Whoa, it was just a joke,” Abby said, frowning.
“Well, it’s a lot to handle when I have no one to share the load.” Bridget sighed and slid two glasses of wine across the breakfast bar. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just…a lot sometimes. Lately I’ve been so tired I’ve started to wonder if I never should have left Ryan.”
“Are you serious?” Margo was alarmed. Her heart was starting to race and her hand trembled as she reached for her wine glass. During their short-lived marriage, Ryan was notorious for staying out until early hours of the morning under the guise of working on payroll, when Bridget suspected he was having beers with the staff—a young crowd that was far more fun than a pregnant wife with swollen ankles. Dunley’s had been a thorn in their relationship from the beginning, both financially and personally; Bridget liked to joke a little bitterly that he should have named it “The Other Woman.” And when it became apparent over time that nothing was ever going to change, she’d given him an ultimatum. It hadn’t resulted in the outcome she’d hoped for. Like Eddie, Ryan was far from husband material.
Ash, Ash was husband material. Or so she’d thought.
“No, I’m not serious,” Bridget sighed. “I’m just worn out is all.”
“Ryan should help out more with the childcare,” Abby said, lowering her voice so Emma wouldn’t hear.
Bridget cocked an eyebrow. “His idea of helping out is taking Emma out for pizza and ice cream and then bringing her back all sugared up because he has to get to the restaurant. Or he’ll bring her along. Let her sit at the bar and chat with whoever’s tending.” She shook her head and took a long drink of wine. “Sometimes I don’t know what was worse: being married to him or divorced from him. At least when I was with him, there was someone to help pay the bills.”
Margo took a long sip of wine, trying to curb the panic that quickened her pulse when she thought about everything that a divorce from Ash entailed. Sure, she still had access to their credit cards for now, and she had some savings from her business in their joint account. She’d get half the value of the house. But she’d need to find work and soon.
She set the glass down with a shaking hand. Was she really doing this? Making plans, uprooting her life?
She brought the glass to her lips again. What other choice did she have?
“I should have known Ryan was trouble. After all, we dated for how many years before he finally popped the question?” Bridget shook her head. “Should have gone for Jeffrey McDowell back when he asked me out. Instead he took Patricia, and look at them now!”
“But they’re your best friends,” Abby pointed out.
Bridget gave a sad smile. “I know. It’s just easy to think of how things might have been…” She looked at Margo. “See, you don’t have to worry about that, Margo. You’re lucky. Eddie was bad news and he spared you, and then you ended up with the nice guy, living in a big house without a care in the world.”
Without a care in the world. If Bridget only knew. Margo glanced at the table, where Emma was coloring a picture of a unicorn. Not the time to open the floodgates, and really, she didn’t want to go there anyway. Not tonight.
“Ash didn’t want to join you on the trip?” Abby asked.
“Oh…” And here it was. She hadn’t even lied yet, and already her cheeks were getting warm and her eyes were flitting from one sister to the other. “He had business to take care of.” She managed not to snort.
The answer seemed to suffice her youngest sister. Abby shrugged and reached for a cracker. “It’s more fun without him anyway!”
“Abby!” Bridget cried, but for the first time in days, Margo burst out laughing.
“See?” Abby grinned. “If Ash were here, we’d all have to talk about boring pleasantries like our jobs—”
“Speaking of,” Bridget cut in. “How’s yours going? Still working part-time at the doctor’s office?”
Abby dodged the question, as Margo suspected she would, by topping off her wine and saying, “I’m more interested in yours. Have you found a buyer for the house yet?”
The air seemed to leave the room and all smiles drooped. “I’m working on it,” Bridget said tightly.
Margo couldn’t hold back her feelings any longer. “Isn’t there something you can do to hold on to it?”
“Did you visit Mimi today?” Bridget inquired pertly.
Margo frowned. “I did. It was…” Depressing, upsetting, eye-opening. There were so many feelings she had over the visit that she couldn’t settle on just one.
“Surely now you understand. She’s not capable of living on her own, much less taking care of such a big place!”
“Yes, but that’s our home, too. Not just Mimi’s.”
Bridget’s eyes widened. “So what? You’re going to buy it?”
“Obviously not.” She was about to say that she already had a house in South Carolina, and then stopped herself.
“I have someone coming to look at it tomorrow afternoon. We won’t have another lead like this for a while. I could use some help making it shine before the showing.”
Margo knew this was more of a request than an invitation. And with her background in staging and design, she couldn’t exactly refuse. “What time?”
Bridget smiled. “Nine o’clock work for you? I’ll come right from school drop-off.”
“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this,” Margo grumped, reached for a cracker, even though she had started to lose her appetite.
Bridget sighed. “Look. It’s not what any of us want. But it’s reality.”
Truer words were never spoken. “I’m just sad to let it go, is all,” she said, thinking of all the memories they’d made there. “Do you remember the time we hid in the attic and Mom couldn’t find us and eventually called the police?”
Bridget burst out laughing. “I’d forgotten all about that!”
“I don’t remember,” Abby said, pouting.
“You were only two. We had to bribe you with candy to keep you quiet.” Bridget laughed again.
“We paid for it, though. When Dad found out he grounded us for a week. Not you, Abby, of course,” Margo added.
“He secretly thought it was funny, though,” Bridget said. “I remember hearing
him and Mom laughing downstairs after they’d ordered us to our rooms with no dinner.”
At the mention of their parents, the room fell quiet, and all their smiles seemed to fade to something more wistful.
Finally, Abby broke the silence with a mischievous grin. “Enough about the house. Now can we please talk about the new guy I’m seeing?”
“Don’t tell me you’re still dating that homeless guy!” Bridget said.
“He’s not homeless!” Abby cried. She glanced at Margo. “Chase lives in his van. And it’s only temporary.”
Bridget cocked an eyebrow. “Homeless.”
Margo was fascinated. “Where does he shower?”
Abby inspected her nails. “Oh, down at the beach house.”
Margo laughed. “Then he is homeless.”
Bridget pursed her lips. “Yep.”
“He’s not—” But now Abby was laughing too. “But he’s so cute! And he plays the guitar. He’s in a band,” she said dreamily.
Bridget grabbed two potholders from a drawer and opened the oven. “Abby, he dumpster dives,” she said flatly, and Margo almost choked on her wine.
“Only for the good stuff! You know The Lantern and the hotel throw out their catch every day! Whatever didn’t sell. Out it goes!”
Bridget caught Margo’s eyes and sputtered loudly, nearing dropping the lasagna dish in her hand as she erupted into laughter.
“What’s so funny? What’s so funny?” Emma asked, looking up from her coloring book.
“Oh, honey. It’s just sister talk,” Margo said, and for the first time in days felt something in her heart other than sadness. Sister talk. She’d gone too long without it.
By the time Margo left, her ribs ached from laughing so hard and she’d cried off most of her mascara. She glanced around the courtyard for any sign of Eddie and hurried to unlock her car. Leaning her head back against the seat, she sighed with content.
Abby was right. The night had been more fun without Ash. And what did that say?
Chapter Five