Frankie Bettencourt’s greeting had Brooke looking for a way to shift out of sight. Not that there was anywhere to go without being noticed. She wasn’t up to dealing with Frankie today. She added sugar and cream to her coffee and focused her attention on the hardware store and photography studio across the street.
“You want your usual, Frankie?”
“Please.” Frankie’s voice was closer now and Brooke swallowed, her hands trembling a bit when she set down the cup on the table. “Mind if I join you?”
The civility in Frankie’s tone caught Brooke completely off guard. Her head shot up before she managed a quick nod. “If you want.”
Frankie tilted up her baseball cap, sat in the chair across from Brooke and rested her bare arms on the table. “Just getting off shift, but I told Roman I’d stop in for doughnuts. Saturday-morning ritual.”
Brooke smiled, uncertain what her reaction was supposed to be.
“Come on, Brooke.” Frankie sighed and sat back, cringing before she glanced out the window. “You look like you’re waiting for me to pounce or something. I...” She trailed off, cleared her throat and started again. “I’m glad I ran into you because I wanted to apologize.”
“You do?” Brooke asked. “What for?”
“For the way I treated you the other day on the beach. I was out of line.”
Brooke sipped more coffee and the knot began to loosen. “You didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
“Doesn’t mean I should have said it. Look... Oh, thanks, Gale.” She accepted the handled paper bag and coffee to go. “Can I actually get a lemon-filled for here?”
“Of course.” Gale hurried off while Frankie set the bag at her feet. Brooke didn’t speak, didn’t push and didn’t expect anything more than what Frankie had already said.
“Seeing you out of the blue like that,” Frankie said just as Brooke assumed their conversation had ended. “It threw me back to those weeks right after you left. I was so mad at you. So mad. The way you just left, just disappeared without a word to anyone. No goodbyes. Just like that you were gone and it hurt. It hurt a lot.”
Brooke nodded. It had hurt her, too. She’d never had a friend like Frankie, before or since. Leaving the way she had was one of her biggest regrets. “I know. I didn’t have a choice,” she whispered. “That’s not an excuse,” she added when Frankie started to speak again. “Just...believe me when I say I did it the way I needed to.” The way her mother had insisted. If she’d said anything to anyone about leaving, even to Frankie, Candice would have followed through with her threat against Sebastian. And that, above all, had been Brooke’s primary concern. “I’ve missed all of you so much. Every single day I’ve been gone.”
Frankie was watching her, and remained silent even as Gale delivered her doughnut. “Sebastian told me about the accident.”
Ah. Disappointment clanged through her. Well, that explained Frankie’s sudden shift in attitude. “I wish he hadn’t.” Darn it. Just when she thought she was making progress and mending a fence. “If the only reason you’re talking to me again is because you feel sorry for me—”
“It’s not,” Frankie interrupted, then looked ashamed for a second before she took a bite of her doughnut. “Oh, man. I swear Gale’s been kissed by the baking angels. Everything she bakes is perfection.” She dusted powdered sugar off her hands. “And the accident isn’t the only reason I decided to apologize. Hearing you almost died and none of us knew about it might have been the kick in the pants I needed. At least that’s what Roman said.”
Brooke was beginning to like Frankie’s intended already and she hadn’t met him yet.
“No one holds a grudge like Frankie Bettencourt,” Brooke teased and saw the first genuine smile cross her former best friend’s lips. “I can’t blame any of you for feeling however you feel about me, Frankie. But I would like the chance to start over. To prove I’m better than that girl who ran away all those years ago. At least I think I am. I’m trying to be.” Sebastian had been right. For too long she’d let people tell her what she should do, how to think, what to think. It wasn’t an easy process doing otherwise, let alone figuring out how to be self-sufficient; but it could be easier if her former friends forgave her, even if just a little.
“So you finally did it, then. Put some distance between you and your mother. Sorry about your dad.” Frankie took another bite, then downed more coffee and grinned. “Took you long enough.”
Recognizing the teasing banter, Brooke finally picked up her own pastry and bit in. “Oh.” She covered her mouth, chewed slowly and savored every sweet, creamy, decadent morsel. “That is astonishingly good.”
“Right?” Frankie held up her cup to toast. “To new beginnings. For all of us.”
Brooke picked up her coffee and knocked it against Frankie’s. “I’ll definitely drink to that.”
Customers drifted in and out, a steady stream that kept Gale hopping and Brooke distracted as she and Frankie chatted. They didn’t talk about anything serious or deep, just small talk that continued to tap tiny cracks in the ice thawing between friends. When Brooke spotted Mandy heading toward the bakery, her nerves kicked back up. “Oh, boy. Here we go.”
“What’s up?” Frankie looked around just as Mandy came in the door, oversize bag slung over one shoulder. “Hey, Man.”
“Hey, Aunt Frankie.” Mandy beamed and, without hesitating, pulled a chair over from an empty table and sat between them. “Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t find my flip-flops.”
“Going out on the boat today?” Frankie asked as Brooke could only stare at her daughter.
Mandy was so...perfect. So well-adjusted and confident and, oh, so happy. The guilt over her leaving all those years ago shrunk a bit and was replaced by an unfamiliar and most welcome sense of pride.
“Yeah. Monty’s taking me to this new diving area he wants to check out. I’m hoping maybe I can get him to give me some pointers.”
“Our very own Jacques Cousteau,” Frankie bragged and reached back to tug on Mandy’s long braid. “Make that Jackie Cousteau.”
“Who?” Mandy’s face twisted.
“Famous oceanographer,” Brooke added, wanting to be part of the conversation. “Used to have a television show ages ago.”
“Really? I wonder if there are episodes online.” Mandy looked over her shoulder to check the line at the counter. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.” She darted over to the selection of pastries and Brooke nodded to Gale when the bakery owner glanced her way.
“She’s an amazing kid,” Frankie said.
“I didn’t have any doubt.” It was, perhaps, the most honest admission she’d made yet.
“Didn’t you?” Frankie asked.
“No.” With most of the tension between them gone, Brooke didn’t hesitate to expand on her comment. “No. There was only one thing I knew for sure when I found out I was pregnant. That Sebastian was going to make an amazing father.” At times, that certainty was the only thing that kept her going. “I’m not entirely sure I was ever meant to be a mother, but Sebastian?” Her heart swelled at the memory of him holding his daughter for the first time in the delivery room. It had been, quite possibly, the most perfect moment of Brooke’s life. “He deserved a whole houseful of kids.”
“Then why did you leave?”
Just like that, Brooke’s tranquility vanished. “Frankie—”
“No, I need to know. Sebastian needs to know.” Frankie leaned her arms on the table and lowered her voice as both of them checked to see where Mandy was. “He deserves to. Why did you cut out on us the way you did? Why haven’t you been in touch all these years?”
“Let it alone, Frankie. The why won’t change anything.”
“Could change a lot,” Frankie muttered, then got to her feet as Mandy approached. “We’re not done talking about this. Here, Man. Take my place. I need to get th
ese doughnuts to Roman before he thinks I holed up to eat them all. Oh, hey, Hunter’s breaking in a new barbecue next weekend. You coming?”
“Uh-huh.” Mandy slipped in front of her and sat down, arranging her oversize pink, blue and purple sprinkle doughnut on the table along with an iced mocha as large as Brooke’s coffee. “Kendall asked if I’d help entertain the kids. I’m coming up with a list of games and activities. Eleni and Kyle are going to help, too.”
“That’ll make your father’s weekend, I’m sure,” Frankie teased. “Considering what happened to Hunter’s last barbeque, plan on keeping the munchkins as far away as possible from the cooking pit. How much you pulling in for that?”
“For helping Kendall?” Mandy wrinkled her nose. “I wouldn’t charge her for being part of the party. It’s just another way to help her, like with the food and stuff. This way she can worry about making sure Hunter doesn’t set things on fire and I can keep the kids a safe distance away.”
“You definitely know Hunter,” Frankie said with a grin. “Have fun with Monty and your dad. Brooke, we’ll talk later.”
Brooke just nodded. She had no doubt Frankie was already plotting to ambush her with questions the next time they met. So much for feeling better about healing that rift.
“Thanks for paying for my coffee,” Mandy said before she chomped a bite so big Brooke couldn’t help but smile. “Gale makes the best doughnuts on the planet.”
“I’m glad you recommended it. I like it here.” This would definitely be part of her new routine.
“Refill, hon?” Gale appeared with a pot of coffee.
“Oh, sure. Thank you.” Brooke popped off the lid and welcomed the distraction. She’d been so worried and nervous about meeting Mandy, she hadn’t thought much about what they might talk about. “So.”
“So.” Mandy wiped her mouth and reached for her mocha. “Where should we start?”
Brooke wished they could pick up from the day she’d left. She wanted to know everything—every moment, every milestone, every tantrum. Every thought Mandy had ever had. “Where do you want to start?”
Mandy looked at her with an oddly unsettling, piercing gaze that had Brooke shifting in her chair. “Why’d you leave?”
It was as if Frankie hadn’t left. The doughnut rolled in her stomach. She’d promised, the instant she’d started her car at home in South Carolina, that she would never, no matter what, lie to her daughter. The answer could be simple, if vague, but Brooke didn’t think her saying “I left because I love you” would heal any wound of Mandy’s or Sebastian’s. “I wanted you to have the best life you could, Mandy. And that wasn’t going to happen with me. I don’t know how much your dad’s told you about my parents—”
“Enough that they sound like jerks.” Mandy slurped her drink. “He told me your dad died. How?”
“Cancer. He wasn’t...” Brooke struggled to find the words. Their relationship hadn’t been perfect, but he’d at least provided a modicum of sympathy. “He got better, with me, toward the end. I think he felt bad about what happened.”
“But not your mom?”
“No. Not my mother.” It had taken Brooke far too long to accept that.
“Dad said they never liked him. Because he’s mundane.”
Anger sparked in Brooke’s chest. Not at Mandy, but at her parents for never seeing Sebastian for the amazing person he was. “I believe that’s one word they used for him. They were wrong, of course. The fact I told them they were didn’t sit well. They saw him, and your aunt Frankie, as bad influences.”
“Aunt Frankie is the best.” Mandy grinned around her paper straw. “She’s like this crazy, impulsive, fun kid who can still kick my butt when I get out of line. Uncle Monty, too.”
“I can’t imagine that happens too often.” A pang of envy cut through her. Her affection for Frankie and Monty Bettencourt shone bright and strong.
Mandy’s grin widened. “You’d be surprised. I think you’re still basking in the glow of we’ve-just-met-and-I-can-do-no-wrong part of our relationship. You’re not ready to see I’m an entirely flawed individual who has the propensity for making wrong decisions at times.”
Brooke laughed, the sound surprising her even as something in her heart burst open. “Your astute observation is proving that theory correct.” She’d thought she’d loved her child before, had clung to that emotion like a preserver in an endless ocean. Only now did she realize she didn’t have an inkling of how utterly and completely she loved this girl. “I’m also not naive enough to understand that you’re probably feeling exactly the same way. Neither of us wants to take a wrong step, say the wrong thing. Offend the other. But that’s not reality, is it, Mandy?”
Mandy shrugged, her gaze skittering to the window. “Reality sucks.”
“Yes, it does.” And that brought them to at least part of what she wanted to talk to Mandy about. “Did your father mention to you what he and I discussed the other day?”
“He just said he wasn’t sure you were in the right frame of mind to form a lasting relationship with me.”
Now Brooke knew where Mandy got her propensity for making astute observations. “He probably thought I’d want to tell you myself. Because...” The admission, one she’d never spoken aloud before, was wedged in her throat. “Mandy, I didn’t plan to insert myself into your life. Ever. Because I knew I wouldn’t be good for you.”
“That’s stupid,” Mandy said. “You can’t have known that because you never tried.”
Brooke blinked. “Well, that’s honest.”
“We shouldn’t lie to each other. Even if it hurts. Dad taught me that.”
Oh, Sebastian. Brooke’s heart wept for what she’d left him with. “Your dad’s always been a very honorable person. Lies, deception, all of that is a foreign concept. He doesn’t think that way.”
“You do know him, then.”
Brooke cleared her throat. “Something happened a few months ago, Mandy. I was in a really bad accident.”
“I’m sorry.” Mandy set down her cup and her gaze softened. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” Because all she wanted was to reach across the table and grab hold of her daughter’s hand, instead, she settled her hands in her lap and twisted her fingers together. “Thank you. For a long time after I had difficulty figuring out why I was still alive because I didn’t want to be.”
Mandy’s eyes went wide.
“That’s really horrible to hear, I’m sure,” Brooke said. “But it’s how I felt. The only thing I could focus on and knew I needed to do, was to come back here and make things right with you. I am so sorry for leaving you, Mandy.” Emotion tinged every word. “I am so sorry for leaving you and your dad, but I need you to understand, I truly thought I was doing what was best for all of us at the time.”
Mandy tilted her head as tears filled her eyes. She swallowed so hard Brooke could see her throat working. But she didn’t say anything. The silence clawed at her.
“I was talking to Ezzie the other day,” Mandy said finally after she scrubbed her hands against her eyes. “I told her I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel about this. I’m not sure I know yet, but I’d like to find out. I can start if you’ll agree to one thing.”
Brooke reached for a napkin. “Name it.”
“Come with me and Dad today. Out on the boat.”
“I don’t think—”
“Don’t think.” Mandy stuffed the last of her doughnut into her mouth. “Just say yes. I’ll be right back. I promised Dad I’d bring him an apple fritter.”
* * *
“WOULD YOU RELAX?” Monty slapped the lid closed on the cooler—probably, Sebastian thought, to stop himself from smacking him. “It’s only nine fifty-five. She’ll be here.”
“I know.” His daughter was nothing if not punctual. Still, he couldn’t stop thinking about how Mandy and Brooke had
been chatting for the past couple of hours. “It’s just weird, Mandy with her mom after all these years. She’s just taking this so well. It’s not normal.”
“That’s what you get for raising a self-assured, empathetic human. Here.” Monty handed him a beer.
“It’s not even ten in the morning.” That didn’t stop him from twisting off the cap.
“Drink it. If not for your sanity, then for mine. I didn’t bring in two employees to run charters for me today so I could stand around and watch you stew in uncertainty. It’s a small town, remember.” Monty opened his own drink—water—and they toasted. “Anything goes awry, there are plenty of people for Mandy to go to.”
“Brooke’s not going to hurt her,” Sebastian countered with more temper than expected.
Monty grinned. “See? There you go. Defending her even as you worry about her. Just like old times. Cast off when I give the call, would you?”
Sebastian glared at him, mostly because it gave him something to do other than sulk. The catamaran, one of those fancy numbers they used for scuba excursions in the islands, had received a new coat of paint this week, along with a new name: Phoenix. All of Monty’s boats were named after mythological creatures to go along with the WindWalkers branded company. Rising from the ashes, Sebastian thought as he dropped onto one of the padded benches and stretched out his legs.
He loved clear-sky days like this, even in February. He could feel the buildup of promise on the water. The sun glanced across his face as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. California perfection never ceased to amaze him. Even with winter still securely around them, they could plan a day on the ocean without anything to worry about other than foggy diving goggles and who lost their swim fins.
The faint echo of voices drifted down the dock, one of which he recognized instantly as his ever-punctual teenager. He also recognized the distinctive flip-flop of the shoes Mandy had spent a half hour searching for this morning. Why they’d been in the kitchen he still didn’t know.
“Thought you were going to be late,” Sebastian called when he knew she could hear him, then, when the voices ceased, he opened his eyes and lifted his head. “Brooke.” He pulled in his feet as Mandy stepped onto the boat. “Thanks for seeing her down here safely.”
A Match Made Perfect--A Clean Romance Page 13