A Match Made Perfect--A Clean Romance

by Anna J. Stewart

  “Jeez, Dad, I’m not a kid. I don’t need an escort.” Mandy rolled her eyes and dropped her bag onto the deck across from him.

  “Sorry. Duly noted. Right. It’s good to see you again, Brooke.” He might have sounded completely in control, but his insides were doing a dance not attempted in fifteen years. She looked...better. A bit healthier. The circles were gone from under her eyes. Her color had improved and she didn’t look as if she was going to jump out of her skin. Sebastian didn’t have to search far for the remedy. He was well aware how much joy his daughter could bring to people.

  “Hi. So, um, I’m just going to go now.”

  “No.” Mandy heaved a sigh and stepped back onto the dock. “No, we talked about this, remember? You’re coming with us.”

  Sebastian choked on a mouthful of his beer. “She is?”

  “Yes.” Mandy glared at him from behind Brooke as she planted her hands on her mother’s shoulders and pushed. “She is. She said it’s been years since she’s been out on the water and if she’s going to be staying, she needs to reacclimate. Hey, Uncle Monty!” The second she had Brooke on board, Mandy scampered around both of them and headed up the ladder to the second deck. “Can I steer us clear?”

  “Sure.” Monty looked down at them, a critical eye pinned on Brooke. It took a moment, a long moment, but eventually Monty gave them a quick nod and moved out of sight.

  Sebastian wiped his mouth on the front of his shirt.

  “I can go now that she’s out of sight.” Brooke, who maintained a death grip on the bag over her shoulder, took a step back.

  “What about not making the same mistakes anymore?”

  A spark flickered in her eyes, but she didn’t rise to the bait. “I told her she should at least check with you first.”

  “Mandy knows how to ambush me to get a result,” Sebastian said, smiling. “Sorry. Just took me by surprise, is all.” Not just her appearance, but how he’d reacted to it.

  For a moment, they’d been teenagers again, discovering each other, going out on the water with Monty and Frankie for unplanned adventures. His heart was beating in that same uneven beat it always fell into whenever Brooke appeared. The same uneven beat he hadn’t felt in years.

  “Welcome aboard.”

  She still didn’t look convinced and eyed him suspiciously.

  “Did you bring a suit?”

  “That’s why we were almost late. I didn’t have one. Mandy convinced the manager at Seas the Day to open early so I could get one.”

  The souvenir, beach and tackle shop right on Monarch Lane was the perfect solution for those last-minute forgotten items, from sunblock to beach towels to, if memory served, rather skimpy bikinis.

  “Did you bring a snack with you, too?”

  “A what?” She blinked in confusion.

  “That paper bag you’re clutching.”

  “Oh.” Pink rose in her cheeks and drew a grin out of him. “Sorry. This is for you.” She held out the bag. “Apple fritter. Two, actually. One’s for Monty. Mandy said they’re your favorite now.”

  “Thanks. It’ll make good dessert for later.” He accepted the bag, took a peek inside and felt his stomach rumble. He set the bag on the padded bench. “You want a beer?”

  “No, thanks.” She shook her head. “I can’t drink with the medication I’m still on.” Purse still on her shoulder, she sat tentatively on the bench next to the apple fritters and Mandy’s bag. “If you have something to do—”

  “I don’t.” He sat back down, not relaxing quite so much this time. Besides, he was still waiting for the cast-off command from Monty. “Coffee must have gone well if she’s dragged you along for today.”

  “It went really well. Better than I could have expected.” The smile she gave him finally lit up her face. “I’m sure there’s some big explosion coming. It can’t all be sunshine and roses, right?”

  “Right.” He agreed. But Mandy’s temperament didn’t tend toward explosions. With Mandy, you typically got what she gave, and that was utter and complete honesty. That said, she was also a teenager who, at times, drove him slightly nuts. “What did you have to eat?”

  “Eat?” Brooke blinked as if the concept was foreign.

  “At Chrysalis. Gale’s notorious for helping new customers figure out their favorites. She remembers every face that comes into her shop, so I’m guessing she played her game with you.”

  “She did. Pistachio cream.” Brooke licked her lips. “Best thing I’ve eaten in a long time.”

  Sebastian couldn’t pull his gaze from her mouth. He missed kissing her, missed the sweet taste of her, the way she’d curl into his arms. Arms that ached with loneliness since she’d left.

  But that time was over. Done. He’d find a route to be friends with her, for Mandy’s sake if for nothing else. But he wasn’t going to start imagining beyond that. She wasn’t staying. And that, he forced himself to admit, was for the best.

  “So.” He sat forward, drank more of his beer. “How long are you in town for?” It was as if his mouth had a mind of its own. That wasn’t a question he wanted or needed an answer to right now.

  “I hadn’t planned for longer than two months.” Brooke tucked some stray hair behind her ear, her gaze flickering away with a flash of nerves.

  Two months. All the more reason not to let himself slip too far into the past. It was bad enough losing her once. He wasn’t sure he’d survive a second go-round. “So you plan to be here for Mandy’s birthday.”

  “I hope to be.” Brooke nodded. “Are there any plans?”

  He could see Brooke’s reservation in her face. Irritation slipped in. She still couldn’t just come out and ask what she really wanted to know...whether she could share in Mandy’s birthday.

  “She hasn’t decided yet. Last year we had an outdoor party at Calliope’s farm. Whatever the celebration ends up being, there will be plenty of people in attendance. Our daughter is nothing if not popular.”

  “Calliope.” Brooke smiled. “She was in school with us, right? Long skirts. Bright red hair?”

  “That’s her,” Sebastian confirmed. “She was a year behind us.”

  She nodded, her lips curving. “She always made me laugh.”

  “She still has a way of doing that. I’m sure she’d like you there.”

  “Calliope?”

  Sebastian’s lips twitched at her teasing.

  “Thank you for the invitation. I’d love to come. I’ll talk to Holly to make sure I can have the night off.”

  “Seb! Cast off!”

  He got to his feet, set down his bottle and approached her. She leaned back, eyes going wide as he got closer. “What are you—”

  “Doing as I’m told.” He reached out and unknotted the mooring rope. He looked over, his face mere inches from hers. His hand tightened around the railing as he allowed himself the briefest of moments to get lost in the familiar welcoming blue of her eyes. It would be easy, so easy, to lean in and kiss her, just to find out if she tasted the same. If maybe she felt...

  The boat lurched before settling into a steady motion forward. Brooke’s hands shot up to catch his arms, her fingers locking around his biceps as Sebastian recovered his balance before he toppled into her lap.

  “Hey, you two!” Mandy called and Sebastian looked over his shoulder to find her leaning on the railing, chin in her hand, grinning like a loon at them. “If you aren’t busy, Dad, how about you show Mom the view from the front of the boat?”

  “Cute kid, huh?” Sebastian muttered as he righted himself and looped the rope for later use. “You heard her, let’s check out the... Brooke?” He stopped, not liking the lack of color in her face. “What’s wrong? Did you lose your sea legs?” The boat was already rocking even in the calm of the marina.

  He watched her swallow and fight against the tears pooling in her eyes. “She ca
lled me Mom.”

  “She did, didn’t she?” Sebastian sat next to her, the delayed reaction taking him by surprise. “I’m sorry, I’m sure she didn’t mean—”

  “I don’t care what she meant.” Brooke took a shaky breath and lifted a hand to the thin gold chain around her neck. Her fingers slipped under it to draw the locket from beneath her shirt. “I’ve only ever dreamed of hearing her say it. Just once.”

  Sebastian’s heart skipped a beat. “Brooke—” He reached out, took the locket from between her fingers and pressed the spring latch. “You kept it.” On one side of the locket was a snippet of Mandy’s hair, tied with a tiny faded pink bow. And on the other, a picture Brooke had taken herself of Sebastian and Mandy the day she’d been born.

  “You gave it to me when I woke up that first morning after having her.” Brooke slipped her hand around his. “I told you then I’d never take it off and I haven’t. That’s one promise I’ve kept. You’ve both been with me every day, Sebastian.” A tear escaped and dropped onto his hand. “Every single day.”

  The questions, the doubts, even the hurt and anger he felt when she’d left caused his chest to tighten. There was so much he wanted to know, so much he needed to ask her, but as the engine roared to life and they picked up speed toward the open water, he clicked the locket closed and got to his feet.

  He didn’t have to look at her to see her flinch. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the disappointed expression on her face as she tucked away her locket again.

  “Sebastian, I’m sorry. I—”

  “We should do what Mandy suggested.” Against his better judgment, against his own good sense, he held out his hand to her, and when she took it, he could feel the loneliness and sadness he’d carried with him for fifteen years begin to fade. “Let’s go catch the view.”

  * * *

  “EASY DOES IT, MAN.” Uncle Monty covered Mandy’s hand and had her easing back on the throttle. “At least until we’ve cleared the marina.”

  “Sorry.” Mandy did her best to sound like she was, but thanks to the rearview mirror, she saw that her “accidentally” speeding up had the exact effect she’d been hoping for. Her parents were falling for each other again. Literally. “How far out are we going?”

  “About thirty miles that way.” He tapped the compass on the dash. “Puts some distance between us and the mainland. I checked out new diving spots the other day. This one’s perfect for you.”

  “You mean perfect for your clients.” Mandy grinned. “I’m just your guinea pig.”

  “True.” Monty chuckled. “But you’re a cute one. Not particularly subtle, though.”

  “Huh?” Mandy glanced up as Monty finished his water.

  “Take it from someone who has played matchmaker in the past, it doesn’t always turn out the way you want.”

  Mandy shifted in her seat and, as they moved past the last docked boats, increased speed. “Who says I’m matchmaking?”

  “Mandy—” Uncle Monty only used that tone when he didn’t know what else to say.

  “Today’s just a test run. I just want to see how they are together. You can’t blame me for being curious, and don’t tell me it doesn’t matter because you know it does. You were around the first time.”

  “Yes, I was.” He grabbed hold of the edge of the roof as the wind started whipping around them. “And I’m happy to give you a play-by-play if that’s what you really want.”

  “Can that be my birthday present?”

  “I already bought your present, so, no, it cannot. Watch your speed. And the wind. We’re heading into it, and we don’t want to use all our fuel getting out there.”

  She readjusted her hold and eased back again. Her entire body felt electrified. Every time she got out on the water it felt like...home. There were never any words to describe it, only this excited yet calm sensation that descended around her the second she was out in the open.

  “None of us can go backward, Man,” Monty said when the noise let up.

  Mandy glanced over and watched her parents find places at the bow of the boat, close to each other, but not quite touching. Her mom looked beautiful, standing there against the horizon, her blond hair flowing in the wind. But it was the look on her father’s face, that almost dazed, amazed expression when he looked at Brooke, that had Mandy’s breath catching.

  “I don’t want anyone to go back,” she told her surrogate uncle. One thing about the adults in her life, and she had a lot of them—she felt comfortable talking to them about pretty much anything. For as long as she could remember, her father had taught her there was always someone in Butterfly Harbor she could go to if she didn’t feel like talking to him. She might not have had a mother growing up, but she did have a support system, which was more than a lot of kids had at her age. And some of them had two parents in the house. “Dad’s never dated.”

  Monty stopped in midstoop to grab another bottle of water. He hesitated, then pulled one out of the cooler and stood back up. “Your dad’s had plenty of dates.”

  Mandy snorted. “I could count them on two hands and still have fingers left. I mean dated anyone seriously. Like Aunt-Frankie-and-Roman serious. Remember the Christmas-tree-lighting ceremony last year? We didn’t need to plug in those lights—the sparks between Frankie and Roman could have electrified the entire town.”

  Monty cringed. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”

  Mandy rolled her eyes. “Stop trying to change the subject. I don’t want...” She hesitated. “I don’t want Dad to be lonely.”

  “What makes you think he’s lonely?”

  “What makes you think he’s not?” Mandy didn’t like the idea any more than Monty did. “I’m not going to be around forever, Uncle Monty. And I doubt you want to be babysitting him once I’m away at college, do you?”

  Monty shuddered. “Pass.”

  His response made Mandy laugh. “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought lately.”

  “Lately as in since your mother came to town?”

  “Nu-uh.” She shook her head and tried to focus on the driving rather than the interplay between her mother and father down a deck. “Since before. I even took a kind of town inventory of single women. I made a spreadsheet.”

  Monty snorted. “Why does that not surprise me? Any promising prospects?”

  “Not really, no. I mean, I thought about Leah Ellis, but she’s kinda fancy. In a good way,” she added. Leah Ellis had moved to town a few years prior and had set up shop in her uncle’s old law firm. She was nice enough. And definitely pretty. There was certainly some mystery about her.

  “Leah’s a good choice. I’m not sure she’s looking for a relationship, though.”

  Mandy looked up. “Did you date her?”

  Monty shrugged. “We had dinner a few times. Caught a movie. She likes the boats. More than she likes me, I think.” He gave her a cocky grin. “This is a discussion I should be having with your father, by the way.”

  “I’m nearly fifteen.” Mandy rolled her eyes. “I know about this kind of stuff.”

  “Three months of dating Kyle Knight does not make you an expert in anything.” Monty’s hand froze halfway up to his mouth. “At least I hope it doesn’t.”

  “You’re changing the subject again,” she said in a singsong voice, turning her head so he wouldn’t see her cheeks flush. If she had to confess, she would, but for now she liked keeping the secret to herself that Kyle was definitely an excellent kisser. “Back to my spreadsheet—”

  “Yes, please.”

  “There are plenty of single prospects in town, but he knows everyone. If something was going to spark, it would have already happened.”

  “So, your solution is to get him and your mom back together again? Interesting reasoning.”

  “You don’t think it matters that it’s been fifteen years and neither one of
them has married, or even thought about marrying?”

  “Clearly you do. Look, Man, I’m just saying don’t get your hopes up. Your mom didn’t stick around last time and she had a whole lot more to give up then.” Monty dropped a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “I know how excited and happy you are to finally get to meet her and know her, but Brooke’s not going to stay.”

  “You don’t know that.” Mandy’s stomach clenched around the sour pit of doubt. “She’s not the same person she was then. She was just a kid when she had me. She’s grown up now.”

  “All the more reason not to pin your hopes on something that might not happen. You can’t force two people together who don’t fit, Man. I’m not saying they do or don’t. Just...consider that what you want might not be what they want, okay?”

  She nodded, only because her throat was too tight to talk. Uncle Monty didn’t understand. How could he make a blanket statement like that without hearing for himself who Brooke was now? She was here, wasn’t she? As far as Mandy was concerned, that was enough. For now.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “SHE’S A FISH.” Brooke couldn’t restrain the wonder in her own voice as Sebastian walked her up the hill to BethAnn’s house late Saturday afternoon. The afternoon she’d spent on the boat with both Sebastian and their daughter had been great. Even Monty had stopped shooting skeptical glances at her by the time they’d returned to the marina. “I’m surprised she can’t breathe in the water.”

  “If anyone can figure out how to do that, it’ll be Mandy.”

  Their daughter, after offering to walk Brooke home, had conveniently remembered a homework assignment she had to get finished by Monday and disappeared. The tension Brooke thought was gone between her and Sebastian had returned in an instant, as if Mandy was the only effective buffer between them. Brooke had insisted she’d be fine on her own, but Sebastian, always the gentleman, insisted on seeing her home. And proceeded to join her on possibly the longest, most awkward walk in the history of Butterfly Harbor.