by Mia Ford
“Sure, sweetie,” she said, kissing Caspian on the cheek.
I gathered my things and walked toward the door, Caspian close behind. I walked out to the car and turned around, my cheeks hot with anticipation. Before I could say anything, Caspian had grabbed me and pressed his lips hard against me. I leaned in and closed my eyes, whimpering as he finished and pulled away, almost pulling me over with him. He smiled and nodded at me, turning and walking back into the house. I leaned back against the car and smiled, realizing that I was in trouble, completely in trouble with this man. I had it really bad, and I wasn’t sorry about it at all.
18
Caspian
There has been a change of plans,” I said, holding the phone up to my ear and talking to Lacey. “Bring your bathing suit with you today.”
“Uh, okay?”
“Don’t be curious,” I said. “Just get over here.” I laughed and hung up.
When she got to the house, she was all smiles, carrying her suit with her. She was on the way out the door when I had stopped her, so she went into the bathroom to change. I knew that tutoring was important, and Bella would get it. I just didn’t want the summer to continue to slip by with the two of us and not be taking advantage of our time together. When she came out of the bathroom, I smiled, seeing the little red straps poking out from underneath her sundress.
“I think, in an attempt to not miss summer, Bella should have her tutoring on the beach today,” I exclaimed when her and Bella walked into the living room.
“That is a fantastic idea,” Lacey said, laughing as Bella screamed and ran to me, hugging me tightly.
We grabbed blankets and all the supplies and went out to the beach, thankful for the privacy of our own property as we looked down at the crowds closer to town. I spread the blanket out and Lacey helped me, before we all sat down. I sat to the side, not wanting to interrupt the lessons for the day and just watched. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Lacey. She was wearing this tiny little red bikini, and she looked so damn hot in it. She stopped and sat up on her knees while Bella read a page from her book out loud. Lacey pulled her hair up in a ponytail, and my eyes trailed down her body and back up to her face, which was now watching me watch her. I smiled mischievously, and Lacey shook her head, blushing.
“The dog ran to the house,” Bella read. “The dog’s name is Spot.”
“Very good,” Lacey said excitedly. “Let’s go all the way to the end of this book, and then we’ll give the harder one a try again.”
“Okay,” Bella said happily. “I’ve been practicing.”
“Of course, you have,” Lacey said, ruffling Bella’s wild brown hair.
When she was done with the Spot book, Lacey pulled out a first-grader book and handed it to Bella. She told her it was okay if she didn’t get it all, that it was just for fun. Bella smiled and nodded, preparing herself to start reading. She was so adorable in how serious she was about all of this. I hated learning when I was growing up, but I felt like Bella loved it because it quenched her curiosity for things. That was very reminiscent of her mother, always wanting to learn more, never being satisfied with the status quo. It was a really good trait to have.
“Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks,” Bella read without skipping a beat. “She went for a walk in the forest. Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She knocked, and when no one answered, she walked right in. At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.”
“Wow,” Lacey said, sitting back completely stunned. “You really have been practicing.”
“It was hard to get the porridge word, but I sounded it out and practiced it several times like you showed me, and now it’s normal like Spot,” Bella said excitedly.
She read the entire book out loud, only struggling on one or two parts. I couldn’t believe my ears. Bella had conquered a reading level she should be on at the end of first grade, not the beginning of Kindergarten. She flew through every lesson that Bella had given her, and when something stumped her, she didn’t get frustrated or angry. She just dug in her heels and worked harder. I was so proud of her.
“Baby, that is absolutely amazing,” I said, leaning forward and kissing Bella on the head. “How about we take a break and eat some lunch?”
She nodded as I stood and jogged back up to the house. I grabbed all kinds of finger foods that we could just snack on out on the beach and packed them in a basket. As I was walking back down the beach, I could see Lacey sitting on the blanket with Bella in her lap, pointing out the different ships on the horizon. My heart swelled, and my anxiety completely lifted. I couldn’t help but think that this just might be it for us. This could be the real thing. My life hadn’t felt settled and whole since Isabella died, but right then, I couldn’t think of anything I wanted or needed. I could see Isabella in my mind, but my heart no longer broke. It was like it was all lifting off my shoulders, and I knew it was because of Lacey. I knew that she had brought a light and an ease to our lives that I never thought I would find again.
“How about this?” I asked, setting the box on the blanket and winking at Lacey as Bella jumped up and started taking things from the box.
We had a nice little picnic, just the three of us, and it went off without a hitch. There was no awkwardness or uncomfortable feelings. It was like the three of us were a family. Lacey had brought so much to the picture, and not just for me. I hadn’t seen Bella this wide-eyed and excited about each day her entire life. Usually, her excitement revolved around her playroom and her Grandma Betty, but Lacey had definitely added to that. I wanted to do something nice for her, to show her how much I cared about her.
“Did you know that the ships look smaller because of your field of vision?” Bella asked proudly.
“I did know that,” Lacey said with surprise. “Where did you learn that?”
“My daddy taught me that,” she said, smiling over at me. “He’s really smart, too, but he doesn’t talk a lot, so you can’t tell.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said, bursting into laughter. “You put that so elegantly, Bella.”
“I have seen how smart your daddy is, and you are just as smart,” Lacey said, winking at me with a giggle.
“Good, because I want to be just like him,” she said, eating some grapes. “And you, too, Lacey, because you are smart and beautiful and very nice.”
“Aww,” Lacey said, looking as if she were truly touched. “That is so sweet.”
After lunch, I just sat there watching the two of them go through the last bit of lessons for the day. Lacey only had one day left of full lessons because all of the preparations started next week for Bella’s school. I was more than a little sad that my daily time with Lacey was going to end, and I could see that Lacey was struggling with it as well. All the more reason for me to plan to do something with her and for her to show her this wasn’t the end of our time together.
When they were done for the day, we gathered up all of our things and headed back to the house. Lacey pulled her sundress on as Bella insisted on taking a shower all by herself. I was nervous about it, but I let her do it, knowing this was just the beginning of her wanting more independence. Lacey laughed as she pulled her bag over her shoulder and smiled at me, her beach hair wild, and the tan on her skin getting darker every day. She no longer looked like the New York City transplant, and finally looked like a beach girl, tanned and windblown. I loved it.
“Thanks for a great day,” she said, smiling as she walked toward the door. “Text me later, okay? I’m going to go catch up on some reading and coffee at Aggie’s.”
“Sounds like a great day,” I said with a half-smile. “You’ve been doing really great with Bella. And Lacey?”
“Yeah?” She turned from the open door and looked at me.
“I liked spending the day with you too,” I said.
She blushed and smiled, nodding her head and walking out of the door. My heart was e
rupting from my chest for the first time in a really long time. I tapped my fingers on the counter, trying to figure out what I wanted to do for her. Then I realized, she wouldn’t want anything crazy or over the top, just time together, getting to know each other better. I picked up the phone and called my mom.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said, answering after one ring.
“Wow, that was a fast answer,” I said, chuckling. “Usually you are too busy to answer at all.”
“Yeah, there’s nothing going on today, so I’m watching trash day time television.” She giggled. “What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Everything is great,” I said excitedly. “I was actually calling to see if you would take Bella for the night tomorrow night?”
“For the whole night? Really?”
“Yeah, I want to take Lacey out for the night,” I said.
“That’s wonderful,” she replied. “Of course, I will take her for the night. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me to do that. I’ve really missed my sleepovers with little miss.”
“I know, and I’m sorry that I’ve kept her so close,” I replied.
“It’s understandable; you lost your wife and you wanted to keep Bella safe,” she said.
“She’s probably safer around you than anyone else,” I said, laughing.
“I would have disagreed, but after that incident where she cut her own hair…” She was laughing hysterically.
“Oh God, I completely forgot about that,” I groaned. “That was terrible. I made her stand in the bathroom away from the sink with her eyes closed for a month when I was taking showers after that.”
“She looked like Joe Dirt,” my mother said, still laughing.
“And she didn’t care at all,” I replied, chuckling. “She thought she was hot shit because she styled her own hair.”
“Well, I promise she won’t come back with a mullet from my house,” my mother said.
“Good,” I said. “Okay, I’ll bring her over tomorrow after tutoring, if that’s okay?”
“Bring her to the church,” my mother said. “I’m doing a craft fair over there on Saturday, and she can help me set up for it. She loves the attention she gets from the old people.”
I chuckled. “She loves all attention.”
“Alright dear, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said before hanging up.
I smiled, leaning against the wall and thinking about how I was going to have the first real date I had been on in years the next night, and with an amazing woman. I walked over to the door of the playroom and watched Bella teaching her stuffed animals what she learned that day. She was reading Goldilocks to them. She turned and looked at me with a big smile.
“Hey, Daddy,” she said.
“Hey, sweetie, I have a question for you,” I said, kneeling down. “How would you like to spend the night at Grandma Betty’s tomorrow night?”
“Really?!” she asked with excitement. “That would be so much fun. I’ll start packing right now!”
I laughed and kissed her on the forehead, walking out of the room to let her do her thing. My mother’s house would be full of stuffed animals and books by that time the next night. I sat down at the computer and looked up different places around Blue Hill. I wanted to have a special night with Lacey, but I wasn’t really worried about where we were going. I knew that as long as I was with her, it would be more than amazing. Hopefully, she said yes to the date.
19
Lacey
You did so great today,” I said, looking at Bella. “You have done great this entire time. You are one of the smartest little girls I have ever met.”
“Will I still see you after I start school?”
“Of course, you will,” I said, slightly choked up. “I will make sure that you are good and happy, and I’m always here to help if you don’t understand something or need help with something. And you still have me until Wednesday.”
“Let’s do the coloring, just to finish up,” she said, handing me a crayon.
I smiled and put my things down, taking the crayon from her and kneeling in front of the table. We colored five pictures together, talking about the scenes in the pictures, where they were from, and the history behind them. It wasn’t part of the lessons for the day, but I was wrapping up my tutoring with Bella because she started her entrance activities for her school on Wednesday, and there wouldn’t be enough time for me to come teach her every day. In all reality, she didn’t need me anymore. In just a short amount of time, she had really shown us what her potential was. I was sad, and I was trying not to be because I had actually become pretty attached to Bella and to the time we got to spend together. She made me realize that I had chosen the right profession, and I wished that I could teach her forever.
When we were done, I helped her hang the pictures up in her playroom, hoping that even if I was unable to be a regular part of her life, she would remember me fondly. I knew that I would remember her and the amazing start to my life here in Blue Hill. I hugged her tightly and wished her luck at school the next week before walking somberly out to the living room. I stood at the counter making sure I had all of my things in my box when Caspian walked up beside me.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, forcing a smile. “I just can’t believe she starts all this stuff next week. When I went to kindergarten, I just showed up the first day.”
“It’s a really thorough school,” he said, patting me on the shoulder. “Besides, you are going to be around. I have you now, and I’m pretty tough to shake.”
“Oh yeah?” I laughed and looked up at him.
“Yep,” he said with charm. “I wanted to know if you would go on a date with me tonight? A real date where I pick you up and take you out.”
“Wow,” I said, giggling. “I would love to.”
“Awesome,” he replied. “You better go get ready then. I’ll be there in a few hours to get you.”
I smiled excitedly, picked the box up off the counter, and headed for the door. He opened it for me and helped me get my trunk open, waving from the front as I started the car and headed back to the house. I went from solemn to hopeful in two seconds, and I was way more excited about this date than I ever thought I would be. I got to the house and put everything away before skipping back to the bedroom and laying out several outfits. I didn’t know where he was taking me, so I didn’t want to dress up too much, but I wanted to look really nice.
I had never been the girl that was worried about fashion, mostly because I could never afford twelve-hundred-dollar shoes, but Jessa was. She had gifted me a little black dress and Jimmy Choo black stilettos before I had left because she said every girl had to have that staple in their closet. I decided that this was the perfect night for an outfit like that, so I pulled it out and laid it across the bed before I jumped in the shower. I took extra care to shave everything really well and used the body wash that smelled like lavender and strawberries. I felt like I was going out with Caspian for the first time, and my nerves were out of this world.
After I was dressed, I stood in front of the long mirror that I had stood in front of so many times as a child. Only then, I was playing dress up in my grandmother’s clothes, and this time, I was a grown woman, standing there in a tight black dress that fell just below my knees, with a gaping neckline that showed the perfect amount of cleavage and expensive black heels. I smoothed my hands over my curves and pushed my long brown curls over my shoulder, happy with how well I had managed to do my own makeup. I barely recognized the woman looking back at me in the mirror, and I really hoped that Caspian liked what he saw.
I turned and grabbed my clutch off the bed and put my phone inside, hearing Caspian’s Jeep drive up in the driveway. I turned off the light in the bedroom and smiled as the doorbell rang. I couldn’t remember the last time a man had come to pick me up for a date. It was very romantic. When I opened the door, my cheeks blushed at his wide-eyed expression.
“Wow, you look amazing,” he sai
d, kissing me on the cheek.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I said, gazing at his black suit, turquoise shirt, and killer tie.
“I clean up pretty well, right?”
“You do.” I laughed. “Is your mom watching Bella?”
“Yeah, she took her overnight,” he said, helping me close the door behind us.
“Why overnight?”
“I wanted us to have some privacy,” he said, shrugging and hiding a smile.
He opened the car door for me and helped me inside, shutting it and making his way around. I watched as he crossed in front of the car and climbed in, liking the sound of privacy more and more every second. We took off out of the driveway and toward town, going to a small restaurant right on the outskirts, on the beach. It was the only really nice restaurant in Blue Hill, and it had been there for as long as I could remember. I had only been there once, though, for my grandfather’s retirement party, and I was just a child.
The hostess showed us to a candlelit table in the back corner, and he pulled out my chair for me. The place was dimly lit but very nice, and I smiled as he ordered us some appetizers and a bottle of wine. With Bella at his mother’s all night, we had no reason to rush.
“I like this place,” I said, nodding my head and looking around.
“It’s no Michelin Star restaurant from New York, but I thought you’d like it,” he said, smiling.
“I never went to those restaurants in New York. I was a broke college student.” I chuckled. “I worked at a catering company at nights and went to school during the day, at least until my internship started.”
“Wow, that’s a full schedule.” He chuckled.
“When my grandparents passed, they left me the house, but they had been the ones paying for college since my parents refused to help,” I said.
“Why?”
“They thought it was stupid to waste my education on becoming a teacher,” I explained. “They are both very successful business people. We have never really seen eye to eye. So, when my grandparents died, I had to take up the bills. It took me six years to finish a four-year degree, but when I was done, I felt really accomplished.”