Seaside Sweets

by Melissa Chambers

  “Of course he fucking has been.” He shook out his hand. “Busted up my knuckles punching him in his squirrely little mouth.” Blake smiled, sorry he’d missed that. Daryl sized Blake up again, and he wondered if he was in for a punch himself. “She doesn’t need to do any more talking.”

  The idea of Blake and Jason being in one equally shitty group in Daryl’s head infuriated Blake. “No, this isn’t that. I need to apologize.”

  “How many times you think Jason’s apologized over the past year?”

  Blake ran his hand through his hair. “No, I’m just…this isn’t that.”

  “I heard you say that the first time. Look, man, you seem like a nice guy, probably even a decent one at heart.” He looked him up and down again. “Doesn’t look like you went into medicine for the money. But Seanna’s been to hell and back with Jason this past year. The last thing she needs is more drama in her life. You got a sister?”

  That always felt like a trick question to Blake. No, he didn’t have a sister now, but he’d had fifty or sixty sisters at various points in his childhood. Usually, he’d just say yes or no to avoid having to explain, but he was done lying. He scratched his forehead. “Sort of. I’m an orphan, but I lived with girls all through my childhood.”

  Daryl lifted his eyebrows like Blake’s words were unexpected. “All right then, imagine one of them had just been through what Seanna went through with Jason this past year, and here I come along, having put her through more lies and deception, knocking on your door, telling you I need to talk to her. Would you let me get to her?”

  Blake imagined this scenario, except with Marigold or Desiree…or Cassidy. Tingles ran up his arms. “No fucking way.”

  Daryl gave him a smile like he was a school teacher delivering a bad grade. He patted Blake on the shoulder. “Let her be, will you? I know it’s tough, man, but if you love her, you want what’s best for her, don’t you?”

  Blake nodded, glancing around the apartment, thankful he’d come at a time she wasn’t home, wondering if he would ever instinctively know right from wrong again.

  Daryl gave him a little nudge, guiding him toward the door. “I appreciate your being a standup guy about this. It’s the right thing to do.”

  Blake turned to Daryl just as he was about to shove him out the door. “Is she doing okay right now?”

  Daryl gave a tight smile. “She’s going to be all right. She just needs some time with her family. We’ve got this.” Daryl winked at him, spit in his cup again, and then shut him out.

  Blake stood in that hallway, staring at the closed door blankly. He couldn’t believe how stupid he was. He’d garnered so much hope and possibility during the long drive, and now he was leaving, knowing for sure it was wrong for him to have come here. He got back on the elevator, his heart sinking with every floor he got away from her apartment, which clearly wasn’t even where she was anymore. Her brother was seeing to that. As much as Blake hated him for what he was doing, he was thankful for him.

  The door opened, and a dark-haired woman stood with two matching boys and...

  “Blake?” Seanna said.

  Blake stood there so long without moving that the elevator doors started to close again. He stopped them with his arm and scooted past to stand in the lobby with them. Seanna turned to face him, and so did the woman and the two boys.

  “Umm,” Seanna said, “Marie, this is Blake. And this is Josh and Joseph.”

  One kid shook Blake’s hand dutifully, but the other turned his shoulder to Blake, his eyes on a spot on the floor. He reminded Blake so much of himself when he was that age and how he’d have that same reaction to strangers, which was often, considering the way he grew up. These days, he would see kids grab their mother’s legs and stare with curiosity when they met a strange adult, but like this kid, when Blake was little, he just wanted the adult to go away.

  “It’s nice to meet you all,” Blake said.

  Seanna’s face flushed. “Go on up, Marie. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “Okay,” she said, staring at Blake warily.

  “It’s fine,” Seanna said. “I promise.”

  It wasn’t lost on Blake that she was reassuring people about him the same way she’d had to do for Jason when he’d confronted her in Seaside Sweets.

  Marie tapped her son on the shoulder. “Go ahead and hit the button.”

  But he just stood frozen. The other one jumped in and hit it, and the elevator opened back up for them. Marie waved as the doors closed.

  “Your nephews,” Blake said.

  “I’m sorry about Joseph. He’s—”

  “He’s absolutely fine. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t be here.” He turned to walk off, but his feet wouldn’t move.

  “Well, you are here.”

  He met her gaze. Her family had kicked into motion and were surrounding her with love and support at her time of need. They were the solution. He was the problem.

  He shook his head, looking down at his hands, and then back up at her. “I’m really sorry. I’ve got to go.”

  He walked out, feeling like a huge rubber band was holding him back, digging into his chest with every step he took. But there was no question that he needed to leave this space…this family.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Seanna pushed the door open to her apartment, zoning in on her brother. “What just happened?”

  He gave her that lazy, condescending look he did that told her he was the brilliant big brother, and she was the piss-ant little sister. “You don’t need to be dealing with that shit right now.”

  “Daryl,” Marie scolded.

  “Run the kids down to the lobby for a minute and get them something from the snack machine.” Marie lifted her eyebrows. “Please?” he asked. She gathered them and headed off, and he turned to Seanna. “Look, he seems like a decent guy, and I know you like him, but we’ve got to get you back into a stable life for a little while, and that’s not gonna do it.”

  “What did he say to you?”

  He waved her off. “He wanted to talk. But about what? Getting you back down to Florida? You came to me for help, and I’m thrilled that you did, but now you’ve got to let me help you. We’re gonna get you out of this apartment and moved into Josh’s room until this is all over, and once you’re settled at your new job, and you’ve made your last payment for that piece of shit, and you’ve got a little cushion for deposits and all that, we’ll find you an apartment, okay?”

  She ran her hand through her hair. “I know, and I’m thankful, but you could have at least let me talk to him.”

  “Sweetheart, no offense, but talking is what got you into all this…letting Jason talk you into stupid shit like paying his goddamned rent.”

  “He didn’t ask me to pay it.”

  “So you just offered?”

  “No, it wasn’t…look, next time, let me decide whether I can talk to my own boyfriend or not.”

  “You weren’t here.”

  “You could have asked him to stay. You knew I was coming back.”

  “That’s why I had him leave.”

  She beat her fist on the bar and then rested it against her forehead. Daryl was right. She had gone to him, and he’d instantly put his life on hold to help her. She obligated herself to follow his lead, as much as she wanted desperately to deviate from the plan right now.

  Daryl patted her on the back. “That guy ain’t going nowhere. Trust me. Settle into our plan. Start this new job. Get this lease terminated. Give Rick and me some time to figure out how we’re going to get Jason out of your life permanently.”

  She met Daryl’s gaze. “You’re not allowed to do anything illegal.”

  “Rick’s a cop. How are we gonna be illegal?” She gave him a look, and he smiled back. “Trust your big brother for once, will you?”

  She exhaled a monster breath. “Once. And thank you.”

  He spit into his cup. “Mmm hmm. Now help me untangle these wires connected to the TV in your bedroom.”


  “I’ll be there in a second. Let me text Marie to come back.” She did, and then stood there at the bar that separated her kitchen from her living room. Blake was in Nashville, nearby. Even if he got in his car to drive home now, he couldn’t have gone far. He was one text or phone call away. All she had to do was reach out to him, and he’d be back here in a flash, ready to talk to her about whatever it was he came here for…to apologize? To win her back?

  “What are all these devices back here anyway?” Daryl shouted.

  She let out an exhausted breath. He was right. They had a plan, and she was thankful for it, thankful for him. She just wished the utter emptiness from the void of Blake that capsized her insides would subside even a little.

  Daryl appeared in the doorway. “Seanna?”

  “I’m coming,” she said.

  “I know what you’re doing.”

  She pursed her lips at him. “Why’d you have to choose now to be so involved in my choices?”

  “Because now’s when I’m needed.”

  She smiled at him and let him take her in for a hug.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Sebastian tossed a hand towel over his shoulder and glanced around Cassidy’s kitchen. “Did we get it all?”

  “Yep,” Blake said. “Except the placemats and napkins. I didn’t want to go nosing around in Cassidy’s room for the dirty laundry basket.”

  Cassidy poured the rest of the wine in her glass. “Nose all you want. It’s been so long since a man’s been in there, it could use the masculine scent you’d leave behind.” Sebastian rolled a bunch of R’s on his tongue and Cassidy laughed. “Should I open another bottle?”

  Blake scratched his chin, his chest going a little tight. “I’m gonna head home.”

  Cassidy pulled a bag out of the fridge. “Not without leftovers.”

  Blake took them. He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t explain why he didn’t want them without giving himself away. He smiled at her, his heart starting to empty. “Thanks, so much.”

  “Well don’t look so sullen,” Sebastian said. “It’s turkey and dressing, not a kidney. I’ll take more wine, but only if we can see if there’s one of those fantastically cheesy Christmas romance movies on.”

  “You like those?” Cassidy asked.

  “I know. I’m a sucker for a great love story. Toss in Christmas, and I’m a goner. Sure you won’t stay?” he asked Blake.

  “No, but you two enjoy it.”

  Sebastian shrugged and then gave Blake a hug. “Happy Thanksgiving.” Blake held onto him for longer than he should have, and Sebastian finally wiggled a little. “Is that a turkey leg in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

  Blake pulled away and then went in for Cassidy, closing his eyes and holding her against his chest. She patted him on the back. “Thanks for bringing the cranberries. I’m no good at making those.”

  Blake pulled away and gave them one last look, holding his hand up in a wave.

  “Bye,” they said, and then turned to the business of opening a new bottle of wine.

  On the ride home, Blake couldn’t help but run the past year over in his brain…really just the past few months. He didn’t seem like the same person he was a few months ago. Some of the changes were good, and some of them scary as hell. All he knew though, was that there was no moving backward anymore, and no stalling out.

  His stomach flew up into his chest as he pulled his truck into his driveway. At first he thought he was imagining things, conjuring up something in his screwed-up brain. But when Seanna stepped out of her Honda, he knew this was real. The universe was fucking him, one more good time.

  He shut his truck door and made his way to her, his face flushed with heat, even though the temps were somewhere in the fifties this evening. “Hey,” he greeted her.

  “Hi,” she said, messing with her car keys, standing there in a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a pale pink sweater looking like a figment of his fantasies. “I’m sorry for just barging in on you like this. I wasn’t sure…I just wasn’t sure.”

  “It’s no problem. Did you just get to town?”

  “Yeah, I’m surprising Cassidy. I’m going to help her through the holiday weekend. I know she could have used it earlier this week getting the pies ready, but I couldn’t get off work.”

  “How is work?”

  “It’s good. Well, it was good. I quit, actually.”

  His eyes went wide while his stomach somersaulted. “You quit your new job?”

  “Yeah, I’m moving here.”

  His heart sank, the blood rushing down his face. Her expression turned sour, and he realized she must be reading his reaction. He forced a smile. “That’s great. You’re going to love it here. It’s the best place I’ve ever lived. Of course, I’d never left Georgia before I moved here, so what do I know?”

  She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Can we go somewhere to talk?” She pointed vaguely to his house.

  He stared at it a minute, and then shook himself into action. “Yeah, sure.” She followed him to the door, and Sadie came running out as soon as he got it open.

  “Hello,” Seanna said, bending down. “So this is the hot blonde. I can’t believe we haven’t met until now.” Sadie took the attention with her typical indulgence, but she lost interest when she spotted a squirrel.

  Blake let Seanna in, and she glanced around. “Wow, you really are a minimalist.”

  He pointed at the couch. “Have a seat. I’m sorry, I don’t have anything to offer you to drink.”

  She waved him off. “Oh, I’m fine. I drank a Big Gulp on the way down today.”

  “Do you need to…?” He pointed at the hallway.

  “Oh, no. I stopped before I came here. I actually went to Cassidy’s first and saw your truck. I knew you’d be there. I didn’t want to blow up your Thanksgiving by crashing. I’ve been waiting here for a little while. Not too long.”

  “I wish you would have joined us,” he said, making the understatement of the year.

  She wiggled a little, adjusting herself on his couch, looking down at her hands. “I had lunch a couple of weeks ago with someone you may know. Valerie White?”

  He hadn’t heard that name in years. “Yeah, I remember Valerie.”

  “I know her through Jason. She had worked with him in Atlanta. She moved up to Nashville a couple of years ago, and Jason and I had dinner with her and her husband a few times, welcoming them to town.”

  He thought about it a minute. “Aaron, right?”

  “Yeah, good memory.” She looked back down at her hands. “I reached out to her after…I got back home. I wondered if she knew you, or knew about you like Jason had.” She met Blake’s gaze. “She thought a lot of you—thinks a lot of you. She told me you had a reputation around that hospital as being a really good doctor.”

  He tried to keep his expression as impassive as possible, biting on his tongue.

  “She told me nobody thinks you had any culpability in what happened. She said your ex-fiancée,” she cleared her throat, “Tara, was really sick.”

  He nodded, trying to keep it together. Hearing Seanna struggle to say Tara’s name—clearly grappling with this whole conversation—tore his heart to shreds.

  She reached for his hand. “I’m sorry I left without us getting to talk about any of this, but I was so freaked out…not about what you said happened, but about the fact that you had this whole life you hid from me. It felt like I was hitting replay on the past year with Jason, and I couldn’t go there again. But I see now that this is something completely different.” She met his gaze. “I see that this is something we can work through together.” She ran her thumb across the back of his hand, sending a shiver through his chest.

  He squeezed her hand. “Thank you, for saying that.”

  She smiled at him. “I love you, Blake. I want to be the one you can talk to about all this stuff. Let’s figure it out, all of it. Let’s communicate and take this one step at a time, to
gether. Can we do that?”

  He stared down at their clasped hands, his whole body numb. He let go of her hand. “I’m leaving, Seanna, for Kansas City, tonight.” Her chin dropped, her mouth wide open, but no words came out. He glanced around the house. “In fact, I’ve already moved out. What you see here comes with this place. My truck’s already packed. I just came back here to grab Sadie.”

  She licked her lips, her expression searching his. “Nobody told me.”

  “Nobody knows. They were all so kind when I tried to leave the first time. I knew if I let anyone know, they’d try to get me to stay, and I really need to go.” She just stared at him, her eyes wide. He took her hand again. “I’m so sorry you quit your new job.”

  She looked back down at their clasped hands. “What’s the job?”

  “I’m going to be a doctor again, working in an ED with a guy who I worked under in Atlanta. It’s the perfect way for me ease back in. And I need to do it. I mean, people are counting on me. I’ve made a promise. And besides that, I need to practice again.”

  She nodded quickly, furrowing her brow. “Of course. Of course you do.” She took her hand from his and dabbed the corner of her eyes with the back of her finger. “That’s great, Blake. It’s really fantastic.”

  “Seanna—”

  “No, I’m serious. I don’t mean to sound like I’m not. I’m really, truly happy for you.”

  His mind raced with options, possible solutions. Because losing her again wasn’t something he was sure his heart could cope with and survive. “Come with me.” She huffed a laugh. “No, I mean it. Come to Kansas City. We’ll make a life there to start.”

  She smiled, shaking her head. “Oh, geez.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “I know. And that’s sweet, and thanks for the offer. But I’m done following the penis.” She held both hands out to her sides. “I followed it here and look what’s happening. I’ve got an opportunity here working for Chase’s company, directly. Learning more about the business, sales and beyond that. It’s more than what I’ve been dreaming about doing. We’re meeting tomorrow about it.” She smiled again, and then looked down at her lap. “But thank you.” She stood up.